Follow along our adventure as we make the transition from corporate city life to the world of natural farming. Each day brings a new experience and brings us to a deeper understanding about the life and spirit that made America great.
At our farm we do our best to give the animals we raise a natural, free, happy, stressfree lifestyle. Our mission is to learn and share how to manage a farming operation that is both profitable and humane.

Friday, July 19, 2013

True.. but little known... eggs sold in america would be illegal to sell in europe. The USDA guidelines for processing and preserving eggs are exactly opposite those in place in europe. The forbes article below describes the differences, and the reasoning behind it.

Little Sprouts offers eggs both ways.. washed or unwashed. We let you, the consumer choose what fits best for your lifestyle. In the summertime, both types are refrigerated, but in fall, winter, and spring the unwashed eggs are kept a cool room temp.

It is fascinating how the two countries arrive at different conclusions about how to best preserve eggs. The eggs themselves are exactly the same... just he laws are different.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The beet harvest is finally here! and we now have available the first batch of lacto-fermented beets and beet stems.

The beets are heirloom variety and organically grown.

The products available are:

Fresh beets by the bunch

3 to 4 beets in a bunch, these beets are extra large! picked the day of delivery to be at their peak in freshness.

Pickled Beets

The beets are roasted slightly, skinned, and cultured in salt water brine to a very tangy flavor with just the tiniest bit of crunch. An excellent snack or side dish and a health food powerhouse!

Pickled beet stems with carrots

The beet stems are combined with a few carrots, and pickled in a sat brine with a tiny bit of jalapeno. the end result is a tangy, crispy stem with the texture of celery. Great for snacks or side dishes. The jalapeno gives only a tiny hint of spice in the background.

Canned beet greens

These beet greens are fully cooked and pressure canned for long shelf life. Add to soups, stews, or just as a side dish. Very similar to chard in flavor and texture.

All of these are eligible for free home delivery to the rogue valley area, and are available immediately. You can find them all in our online store:

Monday, July 15, 2013

Farming laws are usually ridiculous. The root reason why bad empty calorie but full of toxin food exists in 70% of the boxes and cans in the store is government regulations. The government had been artificially controlling food food prices for a hundred years, with the side effect of creating an industry of bad world food, and unfair competition for small family farms. Simply put... If conventional factory farms did not have government subsidies, their food like products would be higher than organic pasture raised food. It is government laws and regulations that create artificially low food prices which are not sustainable.

I point to the recent scare about milk... If the farm bill (government payments to farmers to grow bad food) doesn't pass, milk jumps to $10 per gallon or more. That's how much the government pays dairy farmers to produce dead cooked milk. Raw milk gets no subsidizes. See the problem?

What prompted this post is the following news story, about raisins. This is perhaps the craziest of food laws on the books.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Hunter, our eldest, decided on his own to go public with his personal story. He did so through his first ever public speaking presentation at the local GAPS support group meeting in Medford. We share his story here for everyone that couldnt make it to the meeting.

Sunday, July 7, 2013

Here is our first attempt at cottage cheese. We finally found a lower labor recipe for making REALLY cottage cheese (not the fake stuff with remnant and sometimes vinegar). 2 days and we should see the first results.

If this works out... Cottage cheese will be next on the list of options for herdshare members.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Our hearts are heavy tonight. We lost a long time goat, Violet, to heat stroke. Yesterday we hit a high of 116 degrees, and poor violet was older, and about 2 weeks away from giving birth to triplets. The combination was just too much for her.

We found her this morning showing signs of distress, and we immediately moved her into a barn stall by herself, hosed her down with cool water, and started half hourly regime of force fed water with electrolytes. She improved slightly but then the stress caused her to go into labor. She was just too weak to give birth and eventually gave out.

We did an emergency c-section to try to rescue the babies, but they did not make it either, they had already passed away before the mom.

Farming is full of birth and death, it is management of life itself. I dont know if I will ever get used to dealing with it so constantly and permanently. It does create a deep respect for life.. when you see it come and go so quickly. Every moment is precious, every moment to be enjoyed to the fullest. None of us knows which is our last.

As we say goodby to violet, we remember how precious life is, and how easily it goes away.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

This post, from another farm very similar to our, says so much that is applicable to all small farms. I simply can not add anything to her plea for understanding and equity. Please, I URGE you to read through this piece, and then go support your local farm.

Duck eggs are very popular, especially with those allergic to chicken eggs. Duck eggs are also preferred by those using egg yolk as a healing food. Over the last year the sales of duck eggs has increased to about 40%of our total egg sales. While that is all good news, the US a recurring problem, the duck egg production is unsteady.

There have been many times when the production had barely met needs, and now we faced one delivery where we were unable to meet all subscriptions. We do apologize for the need to substitute chicken eggs for last week, and appreciate everyone's willingness to temporarily adjust. We realize now that a change is in order to allow a more consistent duck egg supply.

The problem.? Simply put, stress! Kaki Campbell ducks are great producers, making close to 350 eggs per year per duck, but only in a low stress environment. Our farm, by nature, is not low stress. We use rotational grazing if several species to improve health overall, which requires lots of moving and change. This in itself causes stress for the khakis.

Research has shown that this is a universal problem for khakis. Farms that rely on this breed go to great lengths to prevent change for the ducks. Even so far as not only collecting eggs same time every day but the same person wearing the same clothes every time! These ducks require rigid routine.

At present at are plagued with large crows that are stealing the duck eggs, which in turn stresses the duck and lowers production. Also working with the fruit trees and berries causes them further stress. Production is currently very low.

So we have chosen to add a new breadth the farm, silver Appleyard! These are beautiful large size ducks that are useful both for eggs and meat. They do not suffer from stress like khakis, Appleyards are write calm and forgiving, great forgers, and very beautiful! With his breed we expect a steady supply of eggs and also the addition of duck meat to our offered products!

We will be hatching the Appleyards ourself from fertile eggs beginning next week. If all goes well they silk be laying by March and we will be able to sell duck meat for Christmas!

Monday, July 1, 2013

We are pleased to announce that Little Sprouts Farm will now be offering herbal products developed by Fir Meadows, LLC. as part of our product lineup for farm pickup and home delivery.

Fir Meadows is the source for our own herb based support products for our animals. We routinely use the parasite control herb blend (DWorm-A) and the healing support products as needed. This has allowed us to stay away from all chemical medicines for 3 years.

Fir Meadows also has a book that contains a wealth of information about herbs, animal husbandry, and proper usage. It is a great starting point if you wish to go chemical free and learn the basics of herbal support for animals.

We encourage you to try these creations, formulated by Kat of Fir Meadows and distributed exclusively through this brand.

For more information on these products browse our online store : http://www.farmigo.com/store/littlesproutsfarm

Items we will have in stock:

1) Book- The Accessible Pet, Equine and Livestock Herbal

2) GI Soother - for coccidia, used with grain for poultry starter. Very popular for poultry. Also for GI source diarrheas in pets, poultry, farm stock. Also ulcers.

3) DWorm A- can be used for any species including poultry, pigs, goats.

4) Layer Support- an herb blend developed to support egg laying birds.

5) Better Daze - very useful for senior stock, young stock or failure to thrives, or as a daily nutritional supplement for anything from poultry and pets through draft stock.

6) HerBiotic Herb Mix or Extract- used as an herbal form of 'antibiotic' in anything from chickens, pets through large stock.

Please join me in welcoming me Christian McPherson as the newest member of our team at Little Sprouts. Christian has been a part time help for a couple years, you may have even seen him on delivery day. After graduating last month he decided to join us full time and move on farm. We are very pleased to have his help around here!

Christian had shown a passion for our mission of humane animal treatment, true land healing, healthy foods, and pain old hard work. He is a bright young man with a bright future and a healthy work ethic.

If you see Christian around or come visit at the farm, be sure to welcome him aboard!